Don't Judge
by lillianwillsurvive
Summary: There was a loud knock on the door. I scowl a little. Opening the doors, I am surprised to see an ANBU operative standing there. "The Hokage expects you for an S-Ranked mission, pertaining to the missing Naruto Namikaze. You have half an hour to report." The nin was gone just like that. Fem Naruto, Sasusaku. One major OC, look out for them!
1. Chapter 1

Preview:

There was a loud knock on the door. I scowl a little.

Opening the doors, I am surprised to see an ANBU operative standing there.

"The Hokage expects you for an S-Ranked mission, pertaining to the missing Naruto Namikaze. You have half an hour to report." The nin was gone just like that.

"_Friendship means understanding, not agreement. Forgiveness, not forgetting. It means memories that last, even when we are lost." ~unknown_

I stared at Sakura across the breakfast table and smiled. She was pouring herself a glass of orange juice, but had somehow dipped her elbow into the syrup on her plate. Now she was childishly trying to lick it off.

"It is physically impossible to do that. You should know. I thought your were one of the top medic nin in the village?" She smirks.

"I am, I just wanted to be the one to prove the book wrong," I smile, and lean across the table to wipe her elbow, which was stuck out towards me at a strange angle. She huffs, and goes back to her meal.

We had been dating for a few months now and I had invited her to breakfast at my house before training. I had cooked chocolate chips pancakes, knowing they were some of her favorite. As we both reached the last quarter of our pancakes however, there was a loud knock on the door. I scowl a little.

Opening the doors, I am surprised to see an ANBU operative standing there.

"The Hokage expects you for an S-Ranked mission, pertaining to the missing Naruto Namikaze. You have half an hour to report." The nin was gone just like that.

We quickly finished our pancakes, knowing that it could be a while before our next meal.

It had been so long since I last saw her. She had left in a whirlwind, only bringing pain. I had watched her leave that night with my subordinates. It was only about two months after I left.

She just left our poor teammate, Sakura, the last of the original team seven, to fend for herself in the grief I left her in. We are the same in that matter. Now three years later I had returned while she had not.

I knew she was a selfish bitch, but she shouldn't have been gone this long.

That was my only train of thought as I walked to the Hokage's office with Sakura. Sai, the boy who had replaced me while I was gone had already been there outside, waiting for us.

As we walked in we found Tsunade sitting behind her desk, with her hands folded in front of her face. She looked frustrated, almost as if she didn't know what to think. It had been so long since I had seen such a pensive look on her face, that I became slightly worried.

"Is something wrong? You seem troubled," Sakura said cautiously, looking upon her old mentor with concern. It was then I notice the paper sitting on her desk. She lifted it up and pointed at the signature. I would notice the girlie scrawl anywhere. Sakura snatched the paper from her fingers and read through it. She glanced up at the older woman, tears in her worried, sorrowful eyes.

"Where did you get this?" Her voice was broken, much like it had been when she spoke to me the first time I returned to the village...

_It was raining._

_The drops clung to my cloak, and the cold was oppressive. I could hardly stand in the sight of the old village gates. As soon as the guard saw me, they jumped at me, weapons raised. I raise my hands in surrender, causing them to give me confused looks._

_"I finally escaped the tyranny that has oppressed me for so long. I have returned to the village as a willing to servant, and will face whatever charges the Hokage places on me."_

_As we walk through the streets, people glared at me. Some gave me looks of fear, whilst others hid their children behind their legs, trying to protect them from the evil that I had once been. It saddens me how well I understand their reluctance to let me back here again, to become a part of the community, to even see my face._

_It had been a long two years, years that I can't say I miss. I've done many things I regret under the command of the wretched man Orochimaru._

_Just as we're turning the corner to the Hokage the tower and catch a familiar head of pink hair into my vision. She's walking towards me. She's wearing the same red dress that I'd seen her in the first time we met, the one with a white circle across the front. Her apple green eyes are looking at the stores as she walks past._

_Her eyes scan across her field of vision, when finally the land and mine. They widen, and she gasps, dropping everything that was in her hands. It seems I've interrupted a routine grocery trip. Her hand covers her mouth, and her eyes fill with tears._

_"Sasuke?" Her voice is so broken and cold, that it stings my heart and brings tears to my eyes. I nod. She walks up to me and stands there, frozen. Then, with blinding speed her hand reaches up and strikes across my face. I don't flinch, I know I deserved it. It's not the physical pain that hurts me, though. It's the fact that she had every right._

_"I'm sorry. I knew Orochimaru wouldn't leave me alone, and I couldn't let him put you in danger," I said as I got down on my knees in the mud, pressing my face into the puddle beneath me. I stay completely still waiting for her response._

_"You left for two years, abandoning your teammates, your village, and any responsibility you had left to your clan. On top of that, anytime me or Naruto came to find you and bring you home, you tried to kill us. You slaughtered countless people, and you expect us to forgive you?" Her voice is even more broken then it was before, and it shakes often. I keep my nose in the dirt, silent and submissive, showing proper respect to someone I had wronged._

_"I want to be there to see what the Hokage says to you, when she tells you that scum is scraped off our streets, but has more purpose than you do in this world." She grabs a fistful of my hair and drags me the rest of the way through the mud to the building..._

Now as I watch her struggle, I understand the pain she feels, and felt, at having lost someone, but getting the chance to have them back again. What hurt the most about her leaving, was that the man, her godfather, the one accompanying her, training her, had returned home without her. Over a year ago.

He had stumbled and the village with no recollection of what happened in the last two weeks. No recollection of how he had lost Naruto. The note he had shown us told us not to search, but of course we didn't listen. We had searched for months.

She continues to study it, before covering her face with one hand, and, dropping into the chair Shizune had placed behind her, held it out to me.

I take the paper from my pink haired woman's hand, I don't know what to feel.

_I'll be coming home soon. I sent this ahead on a fox, my favorite, Rukia. I expect her to be well taken care of. I can't move very fast in the state I am in._

_I'll explain everything they get there, which should be about a week after Rukia gets there. Have a team of medics on standby at the village gates, I will need them. Don't tell Jiraiya, I need to speak to him myself._

_Thanks, _

_Naruto Namikaze_

It took me a few moments to process when I was looking at, but when I did my eyes shifted to the woman behind the desk. I gazed into her amber eyes, which seem to remember the same thing I had moments before, and I speak.

"How long ago did you receive this?" I had to fight to keep my voice steady.

"Six days."

"No offense, but why did you call us here?"

"I want you three to go find her. She should be close to the city, and I'm sure, if you take her fox, you will find her. Sakura can handle the on site healing, but I want to look over her when you guys return."

"When do we leave?"

"Now, if that's possible."

"Yes Hokage!" We turn to leave, but she stops us. We turn around a look at her.

"Make sure all of you come home safely." We nod and smile. Then, I nod at the other two, and we take our leave.

We raced through the village, reaching speeds I never thought possible. We fly through the gates so fast the ANBU guarding them have to do a double take to catch us in their vision. I'm looking all around myself, listening so intently, trying to catch the smallest sound of my teammate, my old teammate.

After an hour two, I hear the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing. Someone shouts but it's not a voice I was happy to hear.

It's the voice of my older brother, Itachi.

The footsteps stop, and there is a loud thud.

Then another voice, weak and feminine, tries to respond, but comes to a strangling end. I'm not close enough to understand what they're saying, but I can understand the emotion in their voices.

Itachi seemed to be commanding the female, while the female the been arguing, fighting back. We were finally within hearing range, as the deep voice of my brother spoke again.

"Let her go, and I will go back with you. Just please, let her go." I freeze at the edge of the tree line. I have never hea`rd my brother's voice sounds so heartfelt and broken in my entire life.

I can see them now, a man with bright orange hair, wearing the red and black clouded cloak of the Akatsuki, stands with his back to me, his arms wrapped around something, the girl I presume.

My brother stands across from us, his expression pained, but his hands are at the ready, to fight or perform ninjutsu. His black hair is ruffled, and his tear troughs are even deeper than I remember. His sharingan flares in an attempt to intimidate his opponent. I see now that he was trying to protect the girl. His eyes widen a fraction when he notices me. I put a finger over my lips to show him to be quiet, and he nods slightly. My team masks their chakra more than they already had as to avoid detection.

The man with the orange hair tilts his head, seemingly thinking. He hums then replies.

"No, I have quite enjoyed her company." Itachi growls in disgust. I'm thoroughly confused by his meaning. As the man shifts his grip, I take this is my chance and leap forward. I place a kunai on his neck.

"Do as he says, or I will not hesitate to murder you, you disgusting bastard." The girl in his arms gasps, and I look down at her. I suddenly recognize the familiar blond hair pulled back in a small, thin braid that reaches her lower back. The man finally releases her.

"Itachi, would you care to explain who this man is?" I ask, as the young blond girl sits down on the ground a ways away facing the opposite direction. I notice that she is in a bloodied tank top, and her bare arms are covered in bruises and cuts, probably from a previous fight. Three foxes trot out of the forest and sit with her.

"It's none of your concern. Take her and leave." I decide not to argue. After walking over to the girl I picked her up, not bothering to look into her eyes, and take off running.

After running for an hour, I stop and clearing and set the girl down. Her bright red fox, who had been following this the whole time, laid down next to her sleeping form with Rukia. Sakura asked us to leave the clearing so she could do an examination. I nod, then decide to set up a perimeter while we wait.

"What did the Akatsuki want with her? Who is that?" Sai asks.

"You mean you didn't see the fox and whisker marks on her face?" He shakes his head.

"That is the jinchuriki of the kyuubi, a dear friend of mine, and our target. That was Naruto Namikaze."

**AN: I'm not a fan of author's notes, so I'll keep it simple. I want you to review, to tell me what you think, and how I can fix it. PM me if you have anything in particular you want me to add, like a character.**


	2. Chapter 2

"_I know when to stop. I know when to let things go. I know when to move on. But 'I know' and 'I can' are two different things." ~unknown_

I don't care to look over her face, because her bangs are stuck there, covering it. After I'm sure they've left the clearing, and carefully remove her ambrey-styled sunset orange and white tank top. I have her laying on her belly, expecting most of the damage to be on her back. She has some welts and bruises, from what seems to be a whipping, maybe a few days old. I heal the worst ones, wanting to save my energy in case there are other, more serious injuries. I slowly turn her over, wincing at seeing I was wrong. I have a hard time finding skin that was healed, let alone without scarring. She was sliced in every direction, across her stomach and her breasts. Some parts of her stomach, neck and sides were swollen with bruises. Her breathing, I now noticed was ragged.

I again did the best I could, before moving to her pale legs, which were barely covered by a pair of ragged shorts. Her legs had deep gashes, from what I cannot tell. They run up and down her legs, almost looking like claw marks. I shiver, only imagining what she had gone through. I stare at her face, which is hidden by bangs, then glance towards the blood red fox laying by her side and something clicks. I slowly lift a shaking hand, shaking from exhaustion or fear of the discovery, I don't know. Lightly brushing the bangs from her cheeks, I stare at the beauty who lies broken before me.

She had pale alabaster skin, which complimented her dirty blonde hair well. Her eyes were large, taking up a majority of her angular face. Above a finely pointed jaw sat a set of fluffy pink lips. The most amazing thing about the unfamiliar and battered face is the whisker marks that ran off her cheeks.

I almost burst into tears right then.

Healing as many of the wounds as I could, with any chakra I had, I clothed her again. I couldn't resist the tears that fell from my eyes at the condition Naruto was in. In comparison to how she used to be, this was just...

I called out to my teammates, telling Sasuke what I discovered when he states,

"I knew from the moment I saw her hair. Have you really forgotten that unique shade?"

I shake my head and sigh.

"Our mission is complete, and she needs to get some real medical attention, let's go home," Sai says, and I take no offense to the words. Instead, I lift my arm, asking him to help me up. He decides to carry me, swooping me into his arms.

"Sleep, ugly. It's time for you to get some rest." I also take no offense to the name, and close my eyes after making sure Naruto is safely in Sasuke's arms.

POV change

I don't know where I am when I awaken, the pattern of the ceiling is like nothing I have ever seen. It seems to be an upside down staircase. I shrug and try to stand up.

Upon doing so, I get light headed and fall over, ripping out several needles that had been attached to my arm. I start yelling and flailing about, alerting a person, whom I hadn't been aware was in the room, to my conscious state. She jumps to her feet and shushes me.

"Naruto, calm down, you're safe. Remember me? I'm Tsunade, your Baa-chan." The blonde, busty and familiar voice speaks in a somber tone.

"What happened to you out there? You were gone for over a year and no one could find you!" She says, seemingly desperate for answers. I sigh, and quickly make up and memorize a story, that is only partly the truth. Not trusting my voice, I motion towards the nearby paper and pen. She gives them to me and I wish I could just remain unresponsive.

"The akatsuki captured me and erased a bit of Jiraiya's memory. They have held me captive, stealing memories of my training and interrogating me for information. they have also been trying to gain access to the kyuubi. I've been trying to escape since the first day, and finally made it with the help of Itachi Uchiha. He was the only one who did me no harm. You will find that he is held captive there too, but only for the sake of his brother. We sent Rukia ahead, and I ran, up while he stalled them catching me. I'm glad those three came when they did, or we would both be goners." She nods, after reading the note, seemingly accepting the explanation.

"Has anyone besides them been told I'm here?" I write, remaining quiet and emotionless, as I have learned to be in these situations.

"Not outside of those three. I made them swear not to say anything. Would you like to see anyone? I believe you are well enough for company. Don't stress yourself though." I nod, then think. I need to thank them, then talk to Jiraiya. A thought hits me again.

"How long have I been out, Baa-chan?" I ask, finally ready to speak, and to lighten the mood.

"Four days." The Akatsuki would be back at the hideout by now, and torturing Itachi for his betrayal. I wince. He was such a good person, I couldn't stand to see him in pain because of me.

"Send Team seven in please," I whisper. Seemingly hesitant, probably noting the uncharacteristic quiet, she nods and leaves. This would be a long day.

I spent my time waiting for the three who rescued me, two of them my former teammates, to arrive by imagining how the encounter would go. I can't quite picture my replacement's reaction, but Sasuke would probably be the aloof asshole he always was, and Sakura would be slightly worried, but also quite angry that I hadn't written. I chuckled at the thought.

It hadn't gone how I had expected in the least.

A strange couple came in cautiously, the male with black hair and black vaguely worried eyes, the woman with pink hair and green eyes. Her eyes burned with a fire of anger.

"Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?! Or write to us to tell us you were ok? I have been so worried." Sakura started off yelling, but broke into a whisper as she spoke the last sentence. My heart stirs with guilt, then sorrow.

"Because I wasn't."

Her eyes snap to mine, and she remembers the situation she found me in. Another man had walked in whilst she spoke, and caught my reply with suspicious eyes. It's funny, he looks just like another young Sasuke, with those black emotionless eyes of his. Said look alike chooses now to speak.

"Why weren't you ok?" In answer, I roll up my sleeves revealing the scars from numerous torture sessions over the past year.

"I was 'ok' until a few days before Jiraiya came back to the village. I was a prisoner under the Akatsuki for the rest of the time I have been gone. They tortured me..." My voice cracks and I can't finish the thought. Sakura had been an ok friend to me since we were placed on the same team. Apparently she had thought I was a real idiot, when the truth was I just didn't put the effort in to work hard. Something that I had turned into a strategy of deception for myself.

She moved forward to comfort her second best friend, me.

"What has happened to us all over the last three years?" She asks and I again notice how different we all, of the original team seven, are.

Sakura's aura and smell tells me she is no longer a weakling, but someone of immense power. I recall that before I left she was apprentice of Tsunade, a sannin and a Hokage. She must have gained the same monstrous strength as the old woman.

Sasuke, as he moves to put his arm around the pink haired kunoichi, has began to trust people. Not only that but he is less vengeful, seeing how he didn't attack his brother in the clearing. He is even showing emotion, hell, kissing Sakura's forehead to _comfort_ her, something the old Sasuke would never do.

Then there is me. Covered in scars, physically and mentally. Stronger than any other jounin out there, but stuck at the level of chunin. I was pushed to my limits, then held captive. I went from a talkative playful child to this... cold bitch in three years. I have seen things most thirty year olds, even ANBU haven't seen, all by the age of sixteen.

I sigh, then nodding in agreement to her.

"I need to speak to Jiraiya, but will you all come back tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Sakura immediately replies. "Would you like us to bring you anything?"

"Could you get me a new set of clothes? These hospital gowns are so uncomfortable..." I trail off. She and Sasuke nod and leave, but the other man stays behind.

"I'm Sai by the way." He tries to give me a smile, but I can tell how fake it is by looking into his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him cautiously.

"I could ask you the same thing," he states cryptically and leaves.

What is up with these men?

I spent a few hours, laying around after Tsunade came back. She keeps going in and out of the room, so when she leaves I try to stand. The problem with that was that she keeps walking in right as I get my feet over the edge of the bed. This time when she leaves I don't bother.

She walks in, sees that I stayed put, and smiles.

"I have already sent for Jiraiya, but didn't tell him why. I wasn't sure if you wanted him to know."

"Perfect, I can be really dramatic about this," I say.

"He is on a mission right now, but should be back soon. That should give you some time to plan." I nod at her words, then shift around a bit where I lay, trying to stand up. I manage to get to my feet before Tsunade notices my intentions. I take a step as she leaps from her chair, and fall to the ground cringing. Something starts dripping down my side and seeping through the shirt and Baa-chan sighs.

"Will you please just stay still! Those wounds will never heal if you don't stay in bed," She scolds me, but stops and stares at something over my now bruised shoulder, which I had slammed on the metal railing of the bed as I fell. I turn to see a red marked face staring back at me, his eyes a swirl of emotion.

"I'm not on a mission right now, and don't plan to be until I wake up from this dream." He pinches himself a few times, then in a desperate attempt to awaken himself bites his hand. I chuckle.

"You always were a day dreamer, huh, ero-sennin?" After hearing my voice, he realizes he is awake, then snatches me up in a bone crushing hug. I yelp in pain, which he must have taken as a yip of delight, because he clutches me tighter.

He pulls away when my blood seeps onto his arm.

"Kami, Tsunade! Why haven't you healed her yet? She is still bleeding this much?" Tsunade sighs.

"I did heal her. Multiple times. From the state she arrived in, even I ran out of chakra from healing her worst wounds. I don't trust anyone else to heal her, because some of the wounds have highly concentrated poisons, which only myself and Sakura know how to heal."

"What do you mean, 'the condition she arrived in?' What happened to her?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" I shout in frustration. Everyone in the room pauses to gather their thoughts and calm down. During which time Tsunade lifts me and lays me back on the bed. I look at Tsunade, and decide to let her give a report on my injuries.

"She had three broken ribs, two fractured ribs, lacerations to her wrists, sides, and back, bruises everywhere, the newest ones were around her neck, probably from an attempt to strangle her," she says, gesturing to my neck.

"What is the last thing you remember happening, before I disappeared?" I ask, so I don't explain more than I need to.

"We had just left Sunagakure for the second time, and were deciding which way to go."

"We had stopped to camp for the night out in the forest, when you suddenly told me to hide..."

_We lit the fire and began roasting some squirrels we had caught. Jiraiya suddenly leaned in close to me._

_"I want you to go sit in that tree," He says. pointing to a tall tree in the distance. "Wait for me to come over before leaving." I nod, knowing not to question him. I shun shin to the tree, then watch our clearing from above. Jiraiya has discreetly drawn a knife and hides his hand as two figures enter the clearing._

_Both sport the same clouded black and red cloak, the mark of the Akatsuki. _

_I recognize them immediately, because of the information we have gathered on them over the years. It was Konan and Pein themselves. _

_I quickly set up a line of foxes to relay the conversation to me._

_"We know you have the girl hidden out here with you. Our other agents have gathered that she left the city to train with you. Where have you hidden her?" Pein asks, before glancing at Konan. "Go find her." _

_She nods and vanishes from my sight._

_"I think I'll leave you alive, for now," he says, then, with lightning speed, hits Jiraiya's neck, in a way that would render him unconscious. I knew that would happen now._

_I disperse the foxes, not wanting them to get hurt._

_I pulled out a scroll and quickly summoned a small toad. Gamakichi appeared and I made a sign for him to be quiet. I quickly scribbled a note asking someone to escort my sensei home, and to tell them not to look for me. _

_"Take this straight to Gaara, he will know what to do with it. be sure to tell everyone I will miss them. Now hurry!" He nods, seemingly catching my urgency. The little guy disappears into the distance as I hear some footsteps approaching my tree. The last thing I see in the clearing is Pein completing the hand signs to erase Jiraiya's memory of the encounter._

"Gaara's team went back and searched the area for any traces of you all nearby, but could not find you. They must have covered the tracks. I searched for you for months, but decided you just didn't want to be found... I'm a fool!" He said, slapping his hands up to cover his face as he plopped into the chair on the side of my bed.

"No. I told you to leave me, because it would be foolish to try to take on the whole akatsuki on your own. Don't beat yourself up ok? I'm alright now, and that's all that matters," he nods seemingly unconvinced. I knew it was because my voice hadn't been to sure at that last sentence.

He stayed there in silence studying my face, but I couldn't stay awake for much longer. I fell asleep in exhaustion, knowing he would still be there when I woke up.


	3. Chapter 3

"_If I were to lose a dear friend in front of my eyes,_

_I would never be able to die in peace." ~Tsunayoshi Sawada_

Sakura's POV

The coffee shop is almost abandoned, but that's what we love about this place. I lean back against Sasuke's chest as we await the arrival of our friends. Only about half of them could make it, but I am sure they can share. I just couldn't keep the news to myself anymore.

I see a familiar head of blue hair above someone seated at a table and wave her over. Behind Hinata walks Shikamaru (who actually put the effort into coming!), Chouji, Kiba and Neji.

They walk over and sit down at the large round table. We all chatter absently and I notice that a blushing Hinata is holding hands with Kiba, as Neji glares at him. I chuckle, but stop when Sasuke clears his throat.

"Now that we are all here, I suppose you want to know what this is about. Recently the new team seven was sent on a retrieval mission." He pauses and looks to me, expecting me to continue the story. Before I can speak, an impatient voice breaks in from behind me.

"Well, who was the target, forehead? I don't have all day," Ino says pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards.

"As I was going to say, our target was a good friend of mine. Uzumaki Naruto." A roar of questions broke out, and I only caught about half of them. I wait for them to calm down, until utter silence reigns.

I recount the story of our mission from the beginning, in full and colorful detail. Emotions flutter across their faces, but all appear worried when I tell of the injuries she had sustained. A few were teary eyed, but one in particular looked furious. When I had finished my tale he speaks to me overly calm.

"You didn't kill that bastard when you had the chance?" Everyone else turns to the boy with the pineapple hair and stare in shock, others in anger at him. Chouji comes to my defense.

"Shikamaru, they would have been killed, or worse, captured, taken back, and tortured with Naruto!" He sighs, shaking his head. "I can't believe you would say that. Just think of the predicament they were in."

Shika leans back, being the strategic genius he is, and tries to plot out a way to win. Apparently unable, he apologizes.

"I'm sorry."

"Where is she now? Can we visit her to make sure she's okay?" Hinata asks. I know the two girls had hardly spoken, but have always seen each other as sisters. I nod and smile at her.

"She's in the hospital. Tsunade and I have only been working on her for a day, but she is already healing up nicely. She should be out in a week if all goes well."

The group nods, then shares a look.

"I guess that means we are all taking a field trip to the hospital," Kiba says, after being abnormally quiet the whole conversation. Hinata must be rubbing off on him.

Again, the idle chatter picks up, and we quickly make our way through the streets to the hospital. Ino keeps trying to flirt with Shika, but he is studiously lost in his own mind. I feel sorry for both of them. For Ino because she has absolutely no chance of getting his attention, because of the bitch she was as a genin, and continues to be. I am more sorry for Shikamaru, because he has had a crush on Naruto since the very day he saw Naruto.

"_Alright class, settle down! Please, I want everyone to get a chance to introduce themselves!" Iruka-sensei says, and goes through the list. He is almost through, and everyone has introduced themselves, except two people. Sasuke, who is next, and a young Nara genius, who was asleep, and thus skipped over._

_At least he was asleep until the door of the classroom slammed open, banging against the door. _

_I laugh at the startled looks on everyone's faces. Then, I notice I am the only one making noise, as a student walks into the class._

_She is heaving, trying to catch her breathe. Her blonde hair is shoulder length and spiky, with bangs framing a cute little pale, whiskered face with blue eyes. When I see her outfit I nearly laugh, then jealousy takes over. She is wearing a short blue skirt which only reaches her mid thigh, and a white shirt, complementing the bright orange boots that go up to her knees. I'm jealous, because the outfit on anyone else would be ugly, but she somehow pulls it off._

_All the guys in the room are staring, some in disdain, others blushing, and a few, like the Nara, looked upon her dreamily._

"_Sorry I'm late Iruka-sensei, the villagers wouldn't let me through the street without throwing rocks and..." The girls voice is unfamiliar, but soft. It reminds me of little happy bells, ringing in the wind._

"_I understand. Why don't you introduce yourself?" She scans the crowd, smiling at some, like me, scowling at others, then her eyes land on the Nara. She winks at him, and he looks taken aback. I hear him mutter something that sounds like troublesome, and snicker._

"_I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I plan on being the greatest Hokage someday! Believe it!" She gives a little bow and walks to the seat next to him. The blonde girl sitting on the other side of him, Ino, is scolding him for being so rude and staring like he is. He ignores her as he shakes hands with Naruto and smiles._

_I laugh already seeing the little light in his eyes, that would someday be a flame._

A flame it is. I see it burning in his eyes as he watches ahead of him at the hospital.

He has been a bit of a downer since Naruto left. Even the mention of the spunky blonde would throw his attitude off. Even on the happiest of days. It had only gotten worse when Jiraiya came back without him.

Shika had been furious. He had been sad. A whirlwind of emotions had floated around him. He didn't have the energy or will to get out of bed for a while, a whole month actually. It was Chouji who managed to get him out to see us. We all spent the day cloud watching and trying to make him, and in turn us all, happy again.

We finally approach the hospital, and I see a familiar ball of fur waiting outside, along with one I don't quite recognize. One of them was pure white, which I recognized as Rukia, the fox from Tsunade's office. The other, a blood red fox, is only a vague memory, from the time we rescued Naruto. Rukia seems to catch our scent, as her head perks up from it's resting place on her paws. She looked at me and stood, yipping to her companion. They walk towards me and nudge my hands, probably smelling Naruto's blood on them suddenly begin howling and snarling at one particular person in our group.

Kiba growls back, and a full sized Akamaru comes to aid him.

Akamaru, as per his breeder's clan standards, had grown to an exceptional height. While Kiba stood at a staggering 6'5", Akamaru came up to his stomach, at around 4'6". I almost giggled at the looks they were giving each other, when I noticed one of the foxes stepping in front of the other. I knew I had to end this as I knew more than the four of them could be injured in this fight.

"Guys come on, let's just get up to see Naru-kun as fast as we can, ok?" Kiba backs down at the mention of our wounded teammate and friend. We march through the doors, and I have the foxes walking on either side of me. I note that the red fox is wearing some form of battle armor, custom fit, with an extra set strapped to his side. I decide to question her owner at a later time.


	4. Chapter 4

**So I am home sick today, but I figured I could use this opportunity to write for you. I am so excited, I finally saved enough to set up a recording studio in my house, and I ordered a new Les Paul single cut out electric guitar and a nice keyboard for recording. I am so excited, so I am going to turn it into inspiration. My dog is sleeping behind me in my papasan chair and it's really comfortable. There is too much snow outside I am rambling.**

**This story looks like it will be, around forty chapters, I am writing the plot right now, and after these next few chapters it should really pick up. I am really excited about this story! Onward, little Marshmallows!**

_"Sometimes you need to distance yourself from people. If they care, they'll notice._

_If they don't, you know where you stand." ~unknown_

Naruto's POV

I wake up and begin coughing. The fit calms after a minute or two, and I glance over at the only two other occupant of the room. The red and black fox looks concerned, but I smile to reassure them. After shifting my hair a little, I speak to them, my oldest animal companions.

"It's alright Kiko and Kenshin. I am okay. Come on we should go see where Rukia is," I say and get out of the bed, wincing as I stretch old bruises. I have been here for a day now, and I am sure they have to let me out of this god forsaken hospital!

As I stumble across the floor, I stumble. My foxes catch me, my left hand smoothes over the black fur of Kiko's back as she supports me. We make it out the door and down the hall, and I smile whilst also gritting my teeth. I am utterly surprised that there are no nurses walking around, or anyone for that matter.

That thought is completely shattered when a white fox with icy blue eyes runs down the hall to me.

The two beside me yip and kneel down, releasing my grip on them so they can meet up with their comrade. They run in a circle until she runs to me. I get knocked over and they all lick my face, catching up in Rukia's happiness.

"Come on girl, get off me! I have to get out of here, we have to find-"

"Where do you need to go? What do you need to find?"

I jump and one of the cuts on my shoulder opens, but I ignore the blood rolling down my shoulder as I stare into the hawk like eyes of an old friend.

"Shikamaru!" I yell, hopping up and hobbling over, despite the whimpers from my foxes, whimpering and telling me to be careful. He rushes forward to help me, and catches me in a hug, picking me up and spinning. I laugh, then turn skeptical.

"Where the hell did the lazy man I left go, hm?" He stops the genuinely happy smile, and looks sheepish, and rubbing his neck. I giggle at him.

"Troublesome woman." I kiss his cheek as he releases me. Another group comes around the corner, being led by someone I was hoping not to see on this walk. My other red fox trots beside them.

I smile, remembering him to be the one I had told Shika to keep watch of, as a parting gift when it was a kit. In this ragtag group is the most of the Konoha twelve. The leader is none other than the hokage, Tsunade.

"Yes Naruto, tell us all what you were doing, out of bed?" The old woman took a very familiar stance with her fists on her hips while leaning down to be at eye level with me.

"I was... looking for the bathroom!"

"You haven't been gone long enough to have forgotten where the bathroom is," she state flatly.

_Yeah, but it feels like it has been a lifetime since I was last here_, I think, remember the toughest parts of the last three years. I shake my head to remove such thoughts and smile at her sadly.

"Have I really?" The question is rhetorical, and I can't help the mournful tone. As I turn and lead the way back to my room, I don't miss the skeptical looks on a few peoples faces.

I sit on the bed when we reach our destination, and lean my head forward so that my hair falls in front of my face like a curtain. Everyone shuffles in and remains silent until it becomes unbearable. I look up and glare.

"Well? You all must have something to say," I smile at them now, genuinely. "It has been so long...I am so glad to see you."

They all began muttering greetings and Shikamaru comes to stand by me.

"And you! I see you have kept up with this little rascal," I say scratching the fourth foxes ear. "What did you name him?"

"Swift."

He can't be serious. I burst out laughing while everyone else watches the scene with a look of clarity. Before I can say anything, Ino pipes up.

"I was wondering where he got the this guy from. He has been a great help on missions, but loves chewing on my hair," she says, stroking her long ponytail lovingly. I chuckle, then grow serious, especially when I see eyes wandering over my not so covered wounds. Hinata voices the question all of them surely had on their minds.

"What ha-happened to you, Naru-kun?"

I lay down on the bed and wait a few moments to tell the story to them. I keep my eyes trained expertly on the ceiling. Half way through, Jiraiya walks in with a bowl of soup and takes a seat in the chair left of my bed. When I finish, many have tears in their eyes.

"That's horrible! We have to go and catch those cowards!" Everyone in the room nods and shouts in agreement, but Jiraiya sees the fear in my eyes and speaks up.

"I don't think that is wise. They are all S ranked criminals, while you are only genin and chuunin. It would be grave consequence to pay just to get back at them for torturing her. Besides, do you not see the fear she has of those men?" They look at my quivering form.

"I never said we would go anytime soon, just that we needed to get them."

"Well, I think it should wait a while, seeing that the person who we should be doing this for, doesn't want it now."

We conversed, and during that time, I ate my soup, then baa-chan kicked everyone out.

I learned that Hinata has less than six months before she takes the lead of the Hyuga House. Shikamaru has passed the clan leadership down to a younger brother who was born whilst I was gone. Sakura and Sasuke have begun dating, along with Lee and Tenten (who started dating within the week I had left), and Kiba and Hinata. I smile at the news Lee announced to everyone that he was going to propose to Tenten in a few days. Sakura is, as I suspected, one of the leading medic nin in Konoha.

It is good to know that everyone's life is going so well.

Tsunade remains in the room with me.

"Tsunade?"

"Yes gaki?" I scowl.

"Do you think after I get out of this hospital I could take a leave of absence to get back into shape, and move into my family's lake house?"

"How do you know about the lake house?"

"Jiraiya and I stayed there while we were training every now and then."

She contemplates the request for a while, then gives a stern look to me.

"You must bring a team of guards with you. I don't want you out there alone. You or one of such guards are also to write reports and letters to me, so I know you haven't been captured again. You are allowed to leave a month after being released, to ensure a full recovery." I smile, and a question comes to mind.

"Can I choose who comes with me?" She nods and I jump in excitement.

"I want team seven, including Kakashi, Jiraiya and Shikamaru."

"An adequate team. I will leave you now to sleep. Goodnight kid."

"Night."


	5. Chapter 5

**Just a filler chapter, but it is necessary.**

**Oh my goodness I am so sorry about not writing in so long. I can't promise updating will become regular or any faster, but I swear I will try my hardest to update more. I had kinda given up on this story when I reread what I already had, along with the rest of the plot I have planned. I fell back in love with it, and I'm so excited to start writing again. Its weird I know, but I was kind of fangirling when I reread it. I have gone through and re-edited, minor changes, but if you wanna reread it, feel free. **

_**Im putting up a poll on my profile for who Naru-kun should end up with. It will be blind, and will be over when I post chapter 8 or nine, depending on the responses I get. let the voting begin!**_

**As an extra apology, I am doing a triple update. We are finally getting into the good stuff!**

"_True friendship is not being inseparable, it's being separated and nothing changes."_

_~unknown_

Sakura POV

"I'm only releasing her with the condition someone stays with her for a few weeks to watch over her, alright? Go talk to the others and see if there are any volunteers." I not at the Hokage and leave her office to speak to the others.

I walk down the street happily humming to myself. It had been a week since Naruto was rescued, and she was healing well. Her biggest injuries were taken care of, and the most serious poisons were dealt with. I would continue healing her for a while after, but she would be fine.

As I approached Ino's family flower shop, which she still occasionally worked at, I heard shouting inside. I giggled when I heard what about.

"You can't just come in here and start picking flowers! Even if they are for your little girlfriend!"

"But Ino-chan, they're for Moegi! Besides, she isn't my girlfriend. Yet. That's what the flowers are for!" He exclaims, looking at the pretty lily and carnation bouquet he had picked out.

"You still need to have one of the store employees pick the flowers for you! Do You even have money for these?"

His face drew a blank and Ino's ear started spitting steam as her face turned tomato red. I walked to her, slipping through the open glass door. I pulled out my wallet, smiling.

"how much were the flowers Ino?" Konohamaru grinned realising I was saving him. Ino calmed, pacified, knowing that she would be paid.

"Twenty three dollars."

I glanced at the bouquet the young boy held, then back at her.

"Kidding, fifteen." I passed her the cash, then turned to the young boy.

"Good luck champ! Go get her!"

He ran out the door with the flowers over his head shouting incoherent words.

"What brings you hear forehead?"

"Baa-chan told me to gather our friends to meet up about Naruto."

"Did something happen?"  
>"Nah, we are just deciding who is going to live with her while she recovers to watch over her. Knowing her she will do something stupid like fall down the stairs and hurt herself again." Ino laughed and nodded.<p>

"Let me call in a replacement, then I will call everyone else to meet by the village gates. we could relax by the creek just out of town."  
>"Sounds good."<p>

I wait in the greenhouse, wandering around at looking at the flowers. I find her little pots of Sakura trees and float around them. I find a tiny one hidden between the larger ones, only large enough to produce one tiny little bloom and I smile at it. I lift it and write a note on the tag, then place it behind the counter to pick up later.

Ino eventually comes back and tells me everyone would be there soon. We then walk off at a leisurely pace out of town. We nod at the shinobi guards who wink at us, causing us to blush and giggle. Men.

When everyone had arrived, we settled down and ate the lunch that choji had kindly offered to bring us all and caught up with each other quickly before getting down to business.

Kakashi POV

I pull my mask off as I run back toward Konoha from an easy escort mission. I roll my head around to get the soreness from sleeping on the floor the night before in an awkward position. I checked my pace, keeping it slow, not in too much of a hurry.

I slowed to a stop when I noticed a bunch of high level chakra signatures and readied myself to attack if they were enemies, but paused when I saw that it was just the Konoha twelve. What could they be doing out here?

Only one way to find out.

I climbed up into a tree and activated my sharingan to read the familiar pinkette's mouth as she spoke to the group around her.

"Tsunade asked me to speak with all of you concerning the care of the idiot. She has determined since that girl is an accident waiting to happen, we must have someone move in with and take care of her for the next few weeks while she finishes healing."

_Who are they talking about?_

"Why not just keep her at the hospital?"

"Come on, we all know Naruto would never let that fly."

Oh, Naruto. That make sense. She hated hospitals as much as me.

Wait.

_Naruto?!_

I leap down from the tree I was in and jog towards the group. They all jump at my sudden appearance, and Sakura is, of course, the first to recover.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just returned from an escort mission. What are you talking about?"

"Oh that's right, you don't know!"

"Know what?"

"Come on we will show you."

They lead me through Konoha and to the hospital they were talking about and I am growing suspicious. Why would they be talking about Naruto being in the hospital? She was still missing.

They lead me through the doors, past the desk, up three flights of stairs to stand outside of room 263. Sakura puts a finger to her lips to signal silence, then walks into the room. After a few moments, Tsunade walks out to greet me.

"How did the mission go Hatake?" So we are playing this game huh?

"Cut the bullshit. Why did these idiots drag me to this god forsaken place? To a _hospital?_"

Sakura popped her head out the door.

"Hey Kaka-sensei, do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Close your eyes."

I sigh and follow her order. A few of the teens start snickering, and I am about to open my eyes when Sakura shushes them again. She then pinches my nose, and I remain still like a statue. I hear the door open.

Then a small gasp and someone jumps to me and tackles me in a hug.

I open my eyes, but my vision is obscured by long strands of blonde hair. I feel the arms shift a bit, and the weight of the person is pressed tighter against me. They are shaking. Then a sound reaches my ears. Not shaking.

_Sobbing_.

I pull back, brushing the hair from my face. I pry them from me and stand, not bothering to see who it was. The moment I am up though, I am wrapped in an even tighter hug. I look down seeing the same blonde hair.

Blonde hair. _Blonde hair?_

_Oh my god._

The sobs begin again, and I recognize the sound as one I hadn't heard in over three years. I hug the girl back and she whispers my name.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"It's been awhile hasn't it gaki?"

"Too long onii-chan." I chuckle remembering when I told her her father had legally adopted me into their family. Of course, it wasn't binding anymore due to the fact that him and Kushina are dead, it is void, but the bond still remains. She is like my little sister. I practically raised her, along with Iruka and Hiruzen.

We stand in silence embracing each other. I feel myself tearing up but refuse to allow myself to cry. _Shinobi don't cry._ Yeah, but this is my little sis. Even after a week in the care of the best two doctors in existence, she is still having a hard time standing without support. She is leaning heavily on me, avoiding putting weight on her back and ribs, opting to have me support her.

And so for once since my sensei died, I made the decision.

in this moment I was not The copy nin. I was just Kakashi.

And I cried, burying my face in the blonde hair, hiding my weak moments from those around us.

"Well, Kakashi, I guess if you want, you can take over caring for her. She is dying to get out of here, but someone needs to watch and make sure she doesn't hurt herself, or reopen wounds for the next few weeks. I was going to have one of these idiots do it," (cue protests of intelligence and the muttering of 'troublesome woman') "But I think because you cared for her as a child and are adopted siblings, you should do it."

Naruto pulled away and looked at me with her fox kit eyes I could never resist.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase onii-chan?"

I nod, but raise one finger.

"Just know you'll have to live at my place. I think they sold your apartment... sorry kid." She nods.

"I figured as much. Can I go now baa-chan?"

"Yes. I had your personal things put in storage,but because of your injuries I don't want you carrying anything heavy. Alright?"

"Yeah yeah," she said, waving her hand flippantly.

"Hey, we can help you!"

Dead silence met that statement.

Not because they weren't expecting help, but because who said it. Everyone turned to stare at the sheepish kid now rubbing the back of his neck and staring ahead indifferently. It was hardly noticeable but his cheeks were slightly tinged with embarrassment.

"Why would a lazy ass offer to help her? You never offered to help me when I got injured!"

"I dunno. It would be troublesome to have her strain herself. We all know she would just sneak out later to get her stuff on her own to do it. Besides she needs to start getting her skills back on par, especially after a year who knows where."

At his statement I take a step back holding her at arm's length and giving her a once over. Even back when she was younger, she had strong, prominent muscles. However, through the long slit in her seemingly new shirt, I could see her bony arms bandaged up tightly. They were smaller than when she left. I also noted that when she had been leaning on me she seemed too light.

"Alright, lets just go. I want to get home and get some sleep in a real bed.I will show you where my apartment is, give you the spare key, then you can grab your stuff. Come on."

Eventually I settled in with have lived together in the past so we were pretty comfortable. His apartment had four rooms, a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. He gave me the bedroom, opting to sleep on his pull out couch, which he had gotten the last time he had to care for me like this. I had lived with him until I was old enough to go to the academy, then I moved into my own apartment. Kakashi didn't pry on why I had been away, and Jiraiya later told me Kaka asked him why I was gone.

It was different from when I was gone. The buildings were the same, but the people had changed, coming and going, as people do in a shinobi village. Many of my civilian friends had left to live elsewhere, while some of the older people who had known my father had past away.

I made sure to visit their graves.

I was different too. One day, when I was out at the market looking for new clothes and supplies (knowing my old clothes I had left behind were too small, and I hadn't brought any home with me) Konohamaru had seen me, recognised me and attacked from behind. I had gone blind with fear fighting to get away, until I heard his voice, finding it was just the harmless little pest. He had looked at me strangely, but then moved on. We talked for hours, in which time he made sure to inform me that Moegi was officially his girlfriend now.

I spent time with my friends whenever I could, catching up and talking. We would toss questions back and forth, interested in how the others lives had changed in the last three years. We all got along the same as we used to, but I noticed, they seemed more cautious of how they spoke or acted sometimes, worried they may hurt me in some way. It made me sad that they did that, and it made me sad that it might be just what I need.

Kakashi had decided to decline missions for the time I was to be under what he calls an 'injury watch.' Whenever we were at home just lounging about, he would sit at the bar counter reading his perverted novels, while I would lounge on the couch reading up on whatever medical books Sakura brought by. She said even though I can't heal using chakra, because I have too much to control now, I might as well learn manual techniques. I completely agreed.

Maybe it would save me from these damned situations!

**By the way, the konoha twelve are seventeenish, Kakashi is twenty two, and all other characters are regular aged.**

**My brother was next to me while I wrote this, and I asked if he had any ideas for fluff, which I am not good at. the eleven year old replies," dance party! Kakashi breaks out singing and dancing to smooth criminal, sasuke then takes up sexy and i know it. Then Naruto breaks in, ending all nonsense songs with centuries. lee is humming a mix of kung foo fighting and white and nerdy, ino is shouting popular from wicked, Shikamaru is thinking of the song i don't care (fall out boy), chouji is at the bar with cookie monster singing c is for cookie, Kiba sings karaoke to who let the dogs out, hinata is singing nothing to remember, shino is listening to creep (radiohead) and change (Deaftones), tenten is jamming to this is war, Sakura is singing give me love to Sasuke and Neji is staring at those damned idiots wondering why he was there and recording the whole damn thing." **

**I just stared at him and said, "Brilliant."**


	6. Chapter 6

"_A friend will help you up when someone knocks you down._

_A best friend says 'stay down, I got this.'" ~unknown_

Sakura's POV

Team 7 was called to be present in Tsunade's office for a mission briefing this morning at nine o'clock, so I am awake now at seven. I want to do some early morning stretches and then I have to cook some food for me and Sasuke. After breakfast I quickly shower and get ready for the day, packed with anything I might need for a short mission.

I meet Sasuke at the door. we walk in silence, hand in hand. As we are walking down the road that leads directly to the Hokage's building, we run into the conversing Sai, Kakashi and Jiraiya.

"It seems the whole assembly is here. Do you guy have any idea what it's about?"

Jiraiya nods.

"All I am telling you is that we are going on a long protection mission a few miles from the village. We will get details when we arrive."

When we walked into the office, we see another person standing opposite the desk.

"Hey Shikamaru, are you going in the mission with us?" I ask enthusiastically, and he nods.

"Alright everyone, settle down. I would like to get on with the meeting. Your client has requested you to go as guards to her lake house. She wishes to train and get back into shape. Ah here she comes now!"

The door opens and a girl our age walks in with a hood over her face. She is clothed in a tight bandage stomach wrap, with a red scarf for a belt. She has on under this a loose pirate style shirt with the sleeves in a strange open and off arm form, connected to her arm with a cuff around the wrists, much like how a sail is attached to the mast of a ship.. Her right hand is covered in a black leather glove. Her shorts are loose and black ending a few inches above her knee. Her shins are covered in a metal fishnet, with blue sandals on her feet. The cloak she wears is white, with orange flames trailing the bottom, and red on the inside, and clasped around her neck by a leaf pendent.

"Take that hood off your head gaki. I haven't told them who you are yet!"

And just like that the blonde bangs framing her face, along with a braid, falling from the hood of the cape. It falls away and Naruto's face is revealed. She wears her forehead protect proudly where it belongs. I notice something new, around her neck. It is a beautiful little choker, one that I have seen in a picture of Sasuke's mother and her best friend, Kushina. It has a sun in the middle, an inlaid orange stone with swirls carved in the leather out from it.

"Ha, but I love being mysterious baa-chan!"

"Whatever." She turns to us and says, "Naruto will explain the details on the way there. Bottom line, you keep her safe from any who would do her harm. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"You leave in three days. get packed, and say your goodbyes. You will be gone for a few months. Dismissed!"

We scatter.

Naruto's POV

Well, that went better than I expected. A few of them even looked happy to be coming along. that made me smile.

With my enhanced sight, I can see a familiar blob sitting at the top of the tallest tree a few miles away.

A familiar little creature trots up to me as I am sitting on top of the fifth's head. Swift trots up and gives a strange smile. Shikamaru walks up shortly, causing a bright smile to pop onto my face. He sits, and I reach behind me.

"I got you something!" I say excitedly. "I though Swift could use it in battle, my own foxes wear this stuff too."

He opens the box and stares at the metal pieces made to protect him, he breaks out into a smile, and begins fastening the armour to him. The fox takes an experimental lap around us, at top speed, before extending each limb, to check his limitations. He appears pleased, it is almost like he isn't wearing the armour at all. Shikamaru doesn't wipe the smile of his face as he leans over and hugs me gratefully.

"Thank you so much! He got injured a few times, and I was so worried about him. I hope this will help him in our next battle, not a be hinderance. "

"It will take him a while to get used to exercising in it, but maybe he can walk with us and try to keep up with my foxes!"

"I guess that shouldn't be a problem, seeing how we are to be living together for a while." While I understand the statement, I'm still tense, and have to remind myself that nothing will happen to me here with all of my fellow shinobi to watch out for _them_.

I scratch the back of my neck to cover my nervousness.

"Sorry for springing this on you, I just really felt like I would be safe and comfortable around those I invited with us."

"No, I really appreciate this actually. It will be nice to get away from my witch of a mother and just watch the clouds for a while. Especially with someone like you!" He smirks.

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Well you're just so nice, and pretty... Plus the fact that I have only seen you a few times now that you're back from a three year disappearance. It's refreshing to have some old friends back."

I smirk.

"I am sure you will have some new ones pretty soon," I say chuckling, and he looks at me inquisitively.

"Now I'm worried."

We spent the rest of the day watching the clouds, before we went our separate ways to pack our things. As we left however, Shika couldn't seem to stop himself from kissing my cheek before turning and swiftly walking away, leaving me blushing in the dust.

When my team of misfits got to our apartment I sit down and huff. My little white Rukia hops up and lays her paws across my legs and her head on top of them. I smile and scratch her head. She rolls onto her back and I scratch her stomach but pause at an unfamiliar round, firmness that it holds. Her blue eyes gaze happily into mine and I understand.

I laugh at the thought of the first time mother playing with her pups.

After a quick dinner of ramen, we all drifted off to my room. I slipped under the covers only to be trapped under it by a foxes on all sides. Rukia laid to my left, her nose touching her mate Kiko's, who lays at my right, face reaching across to her. Kenshin somehow snuggled his way under my feet but above the blanket, trapping my last route of escape.

Humming a quiet lullaby, we slept in a dim peace before the break of dawn. Even with bad dreams plaguing me, My dear foxes keep them at bay with the comfort of their presence.

I have everything packed two days later, and we leave today. I have sandals, shorts, my loungewear and armoured clothes. I also packed all of the ninja weapons I could, along with a few things I know the cottage didn't have when we left it. I packed my special scarf and my belt designed to hold thirty-forty kunai around the waist for use. I haven't seen much of the other six coming with me, because they were probably busy packing too.

Fastening the bags to my pets' packs, I smile one last time at the picture on the wall at the old team 7. We were all, except Sasuke of course, smiling the day after our genin team passed the bell test. The only way I could tell Kakashi as smiling was the little eye wrinkle. I allow a tear to roll down my face before ripping my eyes away. Then, after swinging my own shoulder pack on, we hiked through the door for the last time in what I guessed would be months.

I stopped by Ichiraku's one last time before leaving. I smile at Teuchi and order my usual. As I slurp the last noodle he raises an eyebrow at me before saying something that melts my heart.

"Seeing as you are one of our best customer, we awarded you a free meal now. Each as much as you can, Then when you come back, we will serve you again." He smiles, and at the sight of his wrinkled face, I lean over the able and hug him. After hesitating, he hugs me back.

I scarf down bowl after bowl, having missed the taste of his special recipes. Then, having eaten more than my fill, I thank him again and skip the rest of the way to the village gates. When I arrive there, I am the first to arrive, so I sit down and lean against the wall, while my foxes chase each other around the street. I chuckle at the animals.

Soon, Lady Tsunade walks up with the rest of my group, and instead of her usual stoic face, she has a sad smile on her face. Everyone else is still waking up, or just not talkative people to begin with.

"The last time you walked out those gates, you virtually disappeared for three years with this old fool. The last time you walk in those gates, you arrived in pieces. I expect you to come back whole, and in good health. You all are to ensure this, am I clear?" She says the first bit in a sad motherly voice, but the last bit is a little more serious, and directed at my "body guards."

They nod solemnly.

Baa-chan comes forward to hug me and kisses my brow like a mother saying goodbye to her only daughter. Well not really, because Sakura is also like her adopted child but... I smile and hug her tightly, so as to reassure her that I would be coming back. Then, grabbing the hands of Shikamaru and Sakura, whose other hand was held by Sasuke's, we marched through the gate and didn't look back, knowing we would return in the future.

When, we couldn't be certain.


	7. Chapter 7

"_Life is full of surprises, why should today be any different?" ~unknown_

Naruto's POV

We marched on quietly, and I brooded over the fact that I was about to reveal one of my biggest secrets. We had no need to move quickly, so we decided to walk at a nice leisurely pace the rest of the way, and keep to ourselves. They seemed to notice my want for silence. The only ones who said anything was Sasuke and Sakura, and they were being all mushy and gross.

I hadn't even known the truth of most of my secrets until a year or two ago. Jiraiya and I had been travelling around the village hidden in the mist when we ran into an old friend.

"_Inari it's so good to see you! How have you been?" I asked as we sat around a table after having run into them in town earlier. I had already recounted the story of our first encounter, in quite detail. The preteen had talked nonstop about how helpful and friendly everyone had been since team seven had come around last. It brought a smile to my face, knowing that this boy's hero had a statue in his honor in the middle of town._

_my attention was drawn back into the conversation when he mentioned a new town hero._

"_Yeah! She is incredible! I saw her rescue an old man and a boy from a fire once, at the old bakery. Her wolves carried out anything they thought was of value, and one even carried the small child! She put the flames out, then helped them rebuild the shop within a week! She looks kinda like you Naruto-kun!" I gave a side glance at Jiraiya to see him deep in thought._

"_Do you happen to have this girl's name?" _

"_Yeah, her name is Caesura, why?" A look of understanding dawned on his face and he looked back at me._

"_You're gonna want to meet this girl, Naruto."_

"_Why? Who is she?"_

_He paused. _

" _The night you were born, the Kyuubi attacked, as you know. What you don't know yet is why. I am not going to tell you, because this information could harm whoever knows it. I am the last person alive who is aware of this, not even the Hokage is aware. I will explain more when you meet her, for I am sure you will understand." He stood and bowed._

"_I apologize for leaving in the middle of a meal, but as you can tell, we have important business to attend to." And with that, he swept out of the room and I scurried to follow him. He summoned a small toad, and requested it to track the girl down. We followed it for an hour before we came across a girl in the woods with three wolves curled around her sleeping form. _

_She was thin, with white hair, only marred by two black streaks up front, which had been cut into bangs. Her skin was pale, and extremely clear alabaster that made me think she was albino. Her clothes were worn, and she carrier an old katana, obviously too big for her. She lifted her head to reveal bright blue eyes, stark against her white face. The most disconcerting thing was the fact that she had three scars stretching on either side of her face, like whiskers._

_It was like I was staring at an alternate version of myself._

We had trained together, after learning who the other girl was. She had gone off on her own for a few days when I had been captured, but we had set a meeting place for if that were to happen. I knew she would be there waiting for me to return. That was the whole point of this adventure, despite what I had told everyone else.

That and I needed time to heal the wounds from my time with _them_ to heal the wounds that weren't physical.

She had somehow been captured after the Akatsuki found out who she was, but a few weeks before I had the ability to escape, Itachi and I had been able to get her out, as she was the younger of the two of us, no matter how close our ages were.

It was ok though, because now I could go and see my dear Sura again.

After walking for a little bit, I tell everyone to halt. I glance around at all of them, and I'm glad to see that none of them seem the slightest bit tired. Unlike me. Who hasn't been able to do any exercise in the last year until a month ago, and is only just getting back to a nutritious diet.

Damn those men.

As afternoon fell we made camp. Our leisurely pace had ensured we wouldn't reach the cottage, which was okay, because I wanted to prepare them to meet our hostess. We all sat around the small fire, me next to Shikamaru, who stayed close to my side, and Jiraiya, as he knew who was waiting for us out there. Sakura and Sasuke were cuddled opposite us, with Kakashi and Sai whispering off to the side.

They all seem a little confused as to why I stopped us. It was not near dark, but I needed to do this in a calm environment.

"Um, so there was one bit I didn't tell baa-chan. I didn't know how she would respond, and there is only one other person aware of this."

I said that, they all glanced towards Kakashi expectantly who sighed.

"It actually isn't me this time."

"It's Jiraiya-sama."

"You don't mean-" I nod. "Oh my god."

Tears form in his eyes surprising the rest of the group. Surprising all of us, Kakashi breaks the silence at the new development.

"What is it?"

"The Fourth didn't just have one daughter. He had two. She was the reason I left the village after the Kyuubi attack. Having one Namikaze-Uzumaki girl in the village was enough. I needed to get her to a safe place away from there. The controversy of having twin children with one of them containing the kyuubi, the other would not be safe around the other. It was by her parents order that I took her and placed her with a family who seemed to genuinely want another child, but because of circumstances, couldn't have one. I left her and told them one day I would return to train her, but to otherwise not speak of her origins."

"Thirteen years later, when I came to retrieve Naruto, we went out and found her. There had been rumors of someone with her description wandering around. I'm glad I did," he winces, "but I still wish I could have saved her from her fate of being captured alongside Naruto and being through the same things as her. In fact, when you came back alone," he spoke solely to me now, "I was worried she was dead, but I never got the chance to ask you. I'm so happy she is safe."

"You mean there is another descendant of the fourth out there with Minato and Kushina's will of fire within her?" We nod.

Kakashi too began to let silent tears fall down his face as he reviled in that thought. He then looked at us, the rest of the group silent.

"What is her name?

"My sister's name is Caesura," I spoke happy to give him another piece of his late sensei, and my father to hold onto.

"Well, I am dying to meet her. You got any other surprises?"

I giggle and nod.

Everyone settled down after finishing a quick meal and went to sleep

"You'll see when we get there guys," I muttered under my breath.

We continue our long trek to the house, but Kakashi, being impatient, kept urging the pace faster. I laughed to myself at the irony of the perpetually late man _rushing somewhere._ Granted he had a good reason.

So we moved onward and he or the others kept asking Jiraiya and I questions about her. I am glad that they were taking this well, but I am sure they would have even more questions when they saw her. I caught Shikamaru out of the corner of my eyes.

"Is this what you meant that day on the Hokage monument? 'I'm sure you'll have new friends soon?'"

"Haha yup. I get the feeling you guys will get along well. In hindsight however, maybe I should have brought Kiba along as well..."

"Why would you want to bring that blockhead-" He is caught off guard when something grabs his pant leg and yanks him from the trees. I laugh, while everyone else begins shouting in surprise.

Once everyone is on the ground we get Shikamaru away from the animal that had bitten him, a large wolf. It had an intelligent gleam in its eyes. We form a defensive circle as more wolves surround us, galloping in at the first wolf's howl into the morning sky. I recognise two of them and start to giggle.

"What is so funny right you weirdo?"

"I know those two," I say, gesturing to two wolves of fluffy grey fur, one with a black stripe down its back and the other with white. They both had one blue eye and one green eye, on the opposite side from its counterpart's.

"Who are they?"

"It's Nyx and Sol." I raise my voice to be heard a short distance away. "Come on out."

Light foot steps approach, too soft for the others to be heard until they begin circle the cropping of trees and bushes around us. A flash of white hair here, black there. If I didn't know better, from the height it was at I would think it was another wolf.

But I did know better.

The noise stops right ahead of us, and the wolves shift at a low whistle. They create a line in front of me, and between us and the person. Then, a pair of seemingly glowing bluish silver eyes appeared from the brush, slowly coming closer. Then her face was visible. Finally she broke from the treeline to stand by Nyx and Sol just behind the line of six wolves.

She wore a pair loose pants that came to the middle of her calves, and closed tight around them (like Aladdin's). Around her waist was a dark purple Scarf, tied together at her right side and hung down at her left from hip to mid thigh, not enough to restrain movement. Her stomach and lower back were bare of clothes, but covered in scars of the past. Past battles, fights and memories that she wanted to forget. I would look just the same in time.

From the middle of her rib cage to just below her collar bones was a grey long sleeved sweater covered in a long sleeved fishnet shirt that hugged her form. Over both of these things was a short sleeved navy blue cardigan that also ended mid rib cage. On her feet were black sandals, not confining sharp claw like toes, much like her fingernails. Around her neck was a necklace of a crescent moon with a star inside of the empty part where the rest of the moon would be. Her black bangs were hanging front of her face, having fallen out of the white ponytail which had a few black streaks throughout.

When she flicked the hair from her face, she revealed those blue grey eyes framed by dark eyebrows. Her cheeks were drawn from hunger and bare of any scars though. In fact our features were the same, except hers were less sharp than mine were. That and she had a meniscus shape in the center of her forehead in a silvery scar. She was also pale, paler than even I remembered. Her skin almost matched the pale color of her pure white hair.

The first of our group to move was Shikamaru who shifted slightly closer to my side. Kakashi didn't remove his lone eye from looking at her when he spoke.

"Is this her?"

"Yes bu-"

He ignored me when he jumped high, over the wolves heads who watched unconcerned, as he flew overhead to her. When he landed he quickly pulled her into a tight hug. Over his shoulder, she looked at me curiously. I shrugged and mouthed tell you later. She nodded.

I decided Kakashi had had enough time and I moved to them, morphing through the line of wolves, who leaned into me and nudged me with their heads. After about four long strides I reached her.

"Alright old man, mine turn."

"I'm not that old!"

I ignored him and embraced my sister. I hadn't seen her in half a year, and I had missed her to bits. After all, she was the only family I had left, and the only one who truly understood everything I went through. The kyuubi, the loss of a family, being all alone, living through hell and back.

I am so glad to have her back, and that she had gotten back safely.


	8. Chapter 8

"_You are the reason I became stronger, but still you are my weakness." _

_~Unknown_

Sakura POV

"This is it!"

Naruto laughed at our faces. We stared in awe at the large house in front of them. It was two stories with a small ladder up the side of the house to the roof. It was elongated to the size of what a duplex or triplex home would be. The walls were a simple white color with stone highlighting and dark grey window trimmings. There was a small porch out front, leading to a door, which was again, dark grey, with an oval of glass in the upper center.

"Haha, you guys should see your faces. Priceless!"

"Well in our defence, we were expecting some weird cabin in the woods. You know, usual creepy, boarded up, tiny shack. Not... This," I spoke sarcastically back at her obnoxious tone. Just like old times.

"Alright, well you guys go in and divvy up rooms, and I am going to spend some time catching up with this idiot. See you at dinner!" She said, turning and hooking arms with Caesura. We allowed them to go, albeit reluctantly. They walked around the house and sat down by the creek near the waterfall, effectively blocking people from hearing their conversation.

We walked to the house, finding it unlocked. I was first through the door. Like, the outside, everything was simple and bland, with nothing personalized. It was very open with a living room directly to my right, a dining room in front of me, and the kitchen to my left. All of the decorations were white, black, and grey, making the place feel empty and cold. off the living room was a hallway, which led to a corridor of doors.

All were open, revealing the contents as we moved past. The first on our left was a full bathroom, themed in blues and whites, like a night sky. It had a shower/tub combo with a toilet and a sink. The next two rooms on both sides were bedrooms of the exact same make, a simple bed in the middle, a closet and a chest. Beside the beds was a nightstand with a window over it. After these rooms was two more full bathrooms, one themed purple and the other in red.

"Damn, that girl has been living in luxury out here all alone! I am so jealous. To think, this place was out here all this time, abandoned..." I whispered. Its incredible it was in this good of shape after so long uncared for. We moved to a staircase at the end of the hall and made our way up. Well, some of us did.

"I think I will just bunk down here, It's too troublesome to walk up and down the stairs all the time."

Soon Sai, Kakashi and Jiraiya all opted to sleep in the first floor bedrooms too, leaving Sasuke and I to march upstairs alone. We reached the top of the stairs and he grabbed my hand before I got any further, tugging me back and giving me a heated kiss.

I pulled away breathless and smirked.

"Sorry honey, but you're gonna have to wait a little bit. We have more important things to do right now."

"Like what?" He pouted, uncharacteristically like a little kid.

"Like choosing our _separate _ rooms and unpacking. Then, I wanna go out and sit in the sun for a bit before training some. It's been awhile since we had a day off you know." I swayed my hips teasingly as I walked away and disappeared into one of the rooms, giggling at his groan. Before he could come in though, I shut the door and locked it, causing him to growl.

"I said _separate_, didn't I?"

Naruto's POV

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, laying back in the grass, basking in the sunlight. I took in the sounds left in our silence. Our respective familiars laying on the grass next to us, breathing deep and calm. The birds chirping, the water falling, splattering against other droplets, The insects buzzing about in the garden behind our house. The wind rushing through the leaves, tickling my nose as it went past.

So peaceful. Time to break it.

"So what have you been up to since I last saw you?" I asked, trying to be casual, but not doing well in keeping the emotion from my voice. I was so happy to have her back, to have her safe by my side. My sister, finally safe from all those demons who plagued her past.

"Oh you know, surviving and wondering when the hell you were going to show up," She said sitting up. Her hand rested in the coat of Sol, her now bare feet resting under the warmth of Nyx's belly. She spoke with an angry tone, filled with barely masked betrayal and guilt.

"You know I wouldn't have left if I had known It would take you this long to get back to me. To get away from them." I looked away from her angry, sad, and hurt eyes.

"I couldn't let you stay though. Not after what you'd already been through."

"It's because of that that I should have been the one to stay behind. You know I could have handled it and gotten out on my own fairly soon after, but you chose to stay. What did they do to you while I was gone hm?"

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to block out the memories, the pain, the fear, _everything_.

"Stop."

"Why. If it had been me you would say the same things. You would be just as angry at yourself for allowing your last surviving family member to be hurt in such a way as-"

"STOP!" I shouted over the roar of the waterfall, over her own angry voice. I opened my eyes and stared into her hurt red rimmed eyes, which were just a more pale reflection of my own.

"Fight me. I hate to hear these words, so if you have something to say, say it with your damned fists, you pansycake," I goaded her. I really didn't want to fight my sister, especially knowing she was probably stronger than I was right now, having had more time to recover.

She struck first, rushing at me in what I was sure to be a bone crushing hit, but instead felt dainty compared to our old battles.

Maybe she was more lacking in nutrition than I had originally noticed.

My thoughts were brought back to the present as she kicked up off the forearm I had used to block her kick and flipped straight up into the air before pushing herself down off a branch high above, forcing gravity to work in her favor. She fell quickly toward me and I moved as fast as I could to dodge.

We were soon engaged in a battle, so intent on our opponent that we didn't notice the eyes of our friends peering out the window at us. The air around us shifted and swirled, highly affected by our swift motions as we attacked, dodged and parried fists and feet. We fought late through the day, neither giving or gaining an inch against the other.

Our animals had long since ventured back into the forest, escaping from our ferocious duel. They knew when not to be noticed, or risk ending up on the receiving end of one of the powerful attacks being thrown around the clearing. Not a pleasant idea to say the least.

As the sun began to set, I began to tire, and finally looked her in the eyes as she looked at me.

"Are you done now?"

"Yeah, beating on you is not as fun when you're injured and tired. Plus I have had a chance to get back into our training regime. Haha, I was just going easy on you this whole time!"

"Bullshit! I nearly had you pinned a few times, admit it!"

We continued arguing as we walked back to the house.

It was only once we reached the kitchen that we met the 5 sets of incredulous eyes. My sister and identically scratched the back of our necks sheepishly. I was not all that sure why Kakashi was surprised by our strength or speed, he knew who we were and what we were capable of.

"What's up guys?" I chuckled nervously, flicking my eyes between their faces. My sister not knowing these people, and so feeling less awkward, spoke then.

"Quit staring at us like that. You haven't seen her in how long? A year? Don't be so surprised at her strength. Especially you Kakashi! I get why you'd be surprised about me though..."

They all stared quietly and after the snide remark, Kakashi put on his mask of indifference again, probably realising how soft he had been acting as of late. He then cleared his throat.

"It is just that Naruto-kun has only recently gotten out of the hospital, and actually came out here to recover from her injuries, malnourishment and get back into training. Even with the small recovery time she has had she is at an impressive level compared to how we all remember her. Forgive our incredulity."

He was scrutinizing our faces by now, along the others, especially Shikamaru. His eyes narrowed like a hawk, glaring at something on mine and my sister's' cheeks. I wanted to hold my hand up to my face to check for whatever it was, but that would be an acknowledgment to his staring and I didn't want to deal with the critic that is that lazy fool at the moment.

"You all must be hungry now... I'm gonna get some dinner started for us, feel free to come help me cook," Caesura said aloud, presenting the open invitation to the group. Of course no one would actually t-

"Sure, I'll help."

Since when did that spiky haired, one eyed military _dog_ know how to cook! He never offered to help out on missions. Of course now he was all interested in cooking. I huffed and walked back out the front door. I could hear Sakura scolding him for only just now offering to cook.

Instead I walked back to the place we were training earlier and practiced some of my more advanced jutsu, recalling from all that time ago what Jiraiya had taught me. I also tried some I had seen done, and been victim to in the prison with the Akatsuki.

My body shifted and stretched faster and farther than it had in a long time. The twinges here and there at a strange spot, where a scar covered or there was too much time left since an area had been worked made me smile at the progress. I had learned over the years that the pain felt in training, especially after a time of inactivity, meant things were coming back, the body readjusting and gaining back lost flexibility and muscle. The side of me that fell asleep in captivity was awakening, my feral side. The person I loved being.

She was wild and free, careless and fierce. That girl would do anything to protect those who deserve it. She would die for what she believed. In a way, she was still here. I was still her but I had fallen into a shell of quiet obedience, following orders from those who controlled me and blindly following despite what I really wanted to do. That girl was so tame now I don't know if it would be possible to bring her out of her shell again. She is fighting to get out, but sometimes I wonder if I really want that back.

People used to hate me for who I was and how I acted. I had been attacked, bullied shamed abandoned and everything in between. I was loud and proud, and most people in our village appreciated a calmer quieter way of life with less... vocal opinions on things. No matter how good the cause was. Sometimes people just attacked me for seemingly no reason. Of course I knew that wasn't the case now, but to a lonely, sad child, that was how the world appeared. It was terrible and cruel and there was nothing I could do except speak louder to be heard.

I think it would be best to find a middle ground between the two people I have been.

As I continued attacking my invisible opponent , the sun began setting throwing soft colors of twilight across the sky, becoming harsher as the sun finally reached its lowest point, the bottom kissing the horizon then disappearing and night fell. My body and mind worked tirelessly.

That is, until I tripped on a tree root and fell on my ass.

"Wow, that was graceful. And here I thought you were some almighty master who was no longer on our level," Shikamaru's monotone voice carried over the wind to me. I stayed on the ground breathing heavily from the workout and he layed down next to me, the last rays of sun still pouring over the trees. "Remember when we used to go stargazing back when we were genin?" I nod in answer. "It seems like so long ago. We are all so different. It's troublesome."

We lay there for a few more moments and I began to drift. I was sharply awakened by a pair of arms scooping under my back and legs. I flailed trying to get to my feet, and shouting erupted from the house.

"Put her down!"

"I don't know wha-"

"Damn it can't you see how scared she i-"

"Naruto!"

My team shouted at the male holding me and suddenly I was on the floor again. Shikamaru tried defending himself against the verbal onslaught, but they were persistent. I took another moment to re-regain my breath, then stood to interrupt before it got violent.

"Guys, I'm alright, really. I just overreacted, it's ok."

"Look, Naruto I'm re-"

"Please don't apologize. You were just being kind. It is ok. You didn't do anything wrong, sometimes I just can't help it. I'm still getting used to having people helping me sometimes..." His eyes were guarded and guilty. They were searching mine for what we both knew was there, but I refused to explain. He couldn't know.

None of them could.


End file.
